The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), UNESCO, the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), the World Bank, the International Fund for Agricultural Development and other agencies should continue to support, in cooperation with indigenous peoples, intercultural and bilingual education programs and to promote in particular the right to education, with emphasis on indigenous children; direct financial assistance to indigenous educational institutions should be considered.
The Forum, taking note with appreciation of the conclusions and
recommendations of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UNHabitat) and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights joint publication entitled “Indigenous peoples’ right to adequate housing: a global overview”, recommends that UN-Habitat, jointly with the Office of the High Commissioner, organize an expert group meeting in 2006 to review the status of progress on indigenous peoples’ housing rights globally and identify and document best practices, and report on the outcome and recommendations of the meeting to the Forum at its sixth session.
Despite this critical role, community-regulated indigenous midwifery is often undermined and actively criminalized, to the detriment of the health of indigenous peoples. To close the gap between indigenous and non -indigenous health outcomes, the practice of indigenous midwifery must be supported by state health policy and integration. The right of indigenous peoples to self-determination extends to their reproductive health, and States should put an end to the criminalization of indigenous midwifery and make the necessary legislative and regu latory amendments to legitimize indigenous midwives who are recognized by their communities as health-care providers. States should also support the education of new traditional indigenous midwives via multiple routes of education, including apprenticeship s and the oral transmission of knowledge.
The Permanent Forum recommends that United Nations entities, including the Inter-Agency Support Group on Indigenous Peoples’ Issues, take effective measures to support the promotion of indigenous languages and the successful implementation of the goals and objectives of the International Year, including in activities related to the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the systemwide action plan on the rights of indigenous peoples, the celebration of international days and other processes.